Setting a Patriotic example, during a pandemic

BEATRICE – At a time of political division and much wrangling about who takes over leadership….leave it to sixth, seventh and eighth graders to make you feel good about something.

Beatrice Middle School students, unable to hold a longtime tradition of a Veterans Day ceremony this year due to the pandemic, tackled an idea to raise money to replace flags at the Veteran’s Memorial Park. Urged on by History Instructors Mike Policky and Ben Essam …the students raised about $2,034.

Policky said the idea developed through contact with Verdella Vetrovksy of the Beatrice Rotary Foundation, which spearheaded the Veterans Memorial Park project.

"The challenge to the kids was to each class raise $330...and they met that goal. And, then I put the incentive if we could raise $1,500...then we would pick three students, one from each class, to shave my head. We had a donation from one of the banks, here in town. That ended up putting us $37 short of six sets...and we collected a few more dollars and that put us over the two-thousand dollar amount...and we had enough to purchase six sets of flags."

Policky said it was fun to do something positive together.

"It wasn't Democrat, it wasn't Republican...it was competition between sixth, seventh and eighth grade....but ultimately it was the middle school pulling together to reach goals. We continually teach the kids goal setting, try to attain those...and that's how life should be lived. Set a direction in your life and shoot for it."

The Veterans Memorial Park walls now feature over eighteen hundred names of local veterans. Vetrovsky says there are thirteen walls at the park and two sculptures…and the park could soon be getting another addition.

"We also were recently the benefactor of an estate, so we now have enough money to put in a third sculpture, to the tune of $80,000...so we're excited about that, as well."

Policky said the veterans are the reason the students can undertake a project like this one.

"We thank the veterans who are here today...and we thank those veterans whose names are on the walls...and the veterans who've sacrificed so much, for us. They are the true heroes."

The money was raised by the students over two weeks….the project capped off by the shaving of teacher Policky’s head, back at the middle school.

Students who participated in the ceremony included….6th Graders Ethan Cerveny and Savannah Bolli….7th Graders Clair McGrury and Saige Kobes….and 8th Graders Isaisas Achtemeier and Tobin Robinson.

The designated hair stylists… were 6th Grader Jada Berke, 7th Grader Cole Karlin and 8th Grader Jon Lindell.

The flags at the Veterans Memorial park are replaced two or three times, each year.